This theory suggest the way people communicate and speak to one another is determined by a majority of social guidelines. Social class, race, gender and age all play a large part in this theory. This theory claims that wherever a distinct culture is found, a distinct speech code can be found. Many cultures have various speech codes in their society providing boundaries for speech depending on the social hierarchy. The six rules for this theory are as follows:

– Wherever there is a distinctive culture, there is to be found a distinctive speech code
– In any given speech community, multiple speech codes are deployed
– A speech code involves a culturally distinctive psychology, sociology, and rhetoric
– The significance of speaking, depends on the speech codes used by speakers and listeners to create and interpret their communication
– The terms, rules, and premises of a speech code are inextricably woven into speaking itself
– The artful use of a shared speech code is a sufficient condition for predicting, explaining, and controlling the form of discourse about the intelligibility, prudence, and morality of communication conduct